Translation of the abstract (English)

Extract of the doctoral thesis:
�The controversy in the town of Sulzbach-Rosenberg about the forest �Untere Wagensaß� and the common of estovers� a study in the field of law history
I. Method
This doctoral thesis is based on a summary of the history of the forest called Untere Wagensaß, which was handed down from the citizens of Sulzbach.
These facts were taken as a starting point to ...

Translation of the abstract (English)

Extract of the doctoral thesis:
�The controversy in the town of Sulzbach-Rosenberg about the forest �Untere Wagensaß� and the common of estovers� a study in the field of law history

I. Method
This doctoral thesis is based on a summary of the history of the forest called Untere Wagensaß, which was handed down from the citizens of Sulzbach.
These facts were taken as a starting point to acquire basic knowledge about the history and the law of the duchy of Sulzbach.
Based on this, the exact incidents were researched into through the available archives.
There is a lot of material available not only in the archives of Sulzbach-Rosenberg, but also in the record office of Amberg. Some additional information comes from the archives of the forestry office of Sulzbach-Rosenberg.
The archive material, especially the files of the municipal authorities of Sulzbach and the ones from the financial administration of the duchy, made it possible to describe nearly the exact events connected with Untere Wagensaß from 1348 until today.
During the drawing up of the doctoral thesis the following topics became central to this work: the effectiveness of the option to buy back the land, the second attempt to repurchase it starting in 1786, and the common of estovers for the citizens of Sulzbach.
The major difficulty within the scope of the research was to allocate the competences of the town� citizens and the bureaucracy of the duchy, as well as to determine which law was in effect in the course of the different centuries. As far as these topics are concerned, hardly any archives exist.

II. Results of the research
1. Sale of the forest and option to repurchase
The effectiveness of the sale to the sovereign of Sulzbach was often doubted in the course of the centuries. But the archive material clearly shows that sale of the fiefdom was legal; the internal constitution of the town allowed the transaction. But the more important controversy arose from the simultaneously granted option to repurchase. The files of the financial administration made it possible to discover how the option was founded and what the precise text was.

2. Two attempts to repurchase in 1738 and 1786
The citizens of Sulzbach twice attempted in vain to buy the forest back. So they were obliged to bring actions against the bureaucracy of the sovereign.
Because of this, it was necessary to research into the organisation of the duchy. Furthermore, the thesis answers the question which law was in effect in 1738 and 1786.
The attempt which started 1786 is particularly interesting, as it shows the situation of civil action at this time and the relations between citizens and the courts of justice.
In spite of a very modern procedural law, which contained no preferential treatment for the state administration and possibilities of sanction for every delay, the citizens were not able to achieve the repurchase. The courts of justice in Sulzbach and Munich didn�t come to a decision, although they would have been able to judge. The relations between the authorities and the citizens were marked by a strong subordination of the citizens, also in the civil cases. The courts of justice thought of themselves not as independent and neutral authorities.

3. The common of estovers
Because of the standstill of civil action, the legal dispute was ended in 1792 by a extra-judicial conclusion. Part of this conclusion was the foundation of a common of estovers. Surprisingly, it was no arrangement at all, because of a lack of agreement between the financial administration of the duchy and the citizens.
This common of estovers was something very special, as it had no historical roots at the time. It was founded at a time when such options were redeemed on account of a better management of woods.